when you look at the ongoing negotiations in had cairo with the turks and egyptians and other regional states trying to broker a cease-fire agreement. it's hamas setting up the dinner table. it's not israel authorities. whatever its defensive rationale, and i support israel's right to defend itself, it's radicalizing the posturing. you see the arab world start to unite around hamas this is not good for u.s. policy in the region. >> eliot: we have this mundane but nets question who is winning, and win something hard to define but joe you gave one interpretation, who is being elevated, who is gaining negotiating leverage in the long run. do you agree that hamas is gaining ground in this? >> yes, but they gain ground in the weirdest way. hamas does not succeed by causing more pain to israel. it's the opposite. it succeed by forcing israel to behave in such a way that hundreds of civilians or dozens of civilians are killed. hamas is not inflicting damage on israel as you pointed out in your statement. the iron dome defense system has largely spared israel from harm. israel succeed by harmi